Attachment for vehicle-wheels.



y S.A.CHERRY. ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLE WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1910.

Ptentea June 4, 1912.

converting an automobile wheel'as to enable a railroad oflicial, orother person .to make a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' SPENCERv A. CHERRY, 0E NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

ATTACHMENT ECE. vErHCLE-wiinizELs.l

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented Juner, 1912.

' Application filed-May 14, 1910. Serial No.- 561, 366`.

To all whom t may concern y I Be it known that I, SPENCER A. CHERRY, `ac1t1zen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county ofDavidson and State of Tennessee, have invented vor discovered certainnew and useful Improve-` ments'in Attachments for vVehicle-VVheels, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference' beingv had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

This invention -relates 4to vehiclewheels,

being more particularly applicable lto vthe pneumatic tired wheels ofautomobiles, al-

though not necessarily limited thereto, and has for its object toprovide means whereby a vehicle wheel of ordinary construction may beadapted for use upon'the rails of a railroad track. y The moreparticularobject of the invention is to provide a Wheelattachment for sotrip of any desired distance over railroad .track in his own automobile,and thereafter Ato leave the railroad. and go as'far as he pleases'over' ordinary roads;

A further object of the inventionv is to provide an attachment'of thecharacter referredv to of such construction that' the change from railto highway and vice versa- ,can-,b.e made very nrtclluickly and by themere deflation and rei ation of the pneumatic tires-and without thenecessity' of removing screws, bolts, or other attaching means.

Other objectsof the invention, together with means whereby the same maybe car' ried into effect, will best be understood from the followingdescription of one form or embodiment thereof illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. It is to be under'- stood, however, that the'construction described and shown has been chosen for illustrativepurposes merely, and that many changes may be made therein. withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

In saidvdrawi'ngs--Figure `.1" is a vertical section of an axle and apair of vwheels having my invention applied thereto in position on arailroad track; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one of' said wheels, andFig. 3 is a detail vertical section lthrough the tire and rim.

In'the construction shownv-12 denotes the axle of the vautomobile orother vehicle equipped with wheels 13, 1 3 which, for purposes 'ofillustration, may be either the front or steerlng wheels or the rear ordriving wheels, said wheels being provided with the usual rims lllfandtires 15.

The attachment forming `the subject of this invention comprises anauxiliary tread member inthe form of a band 16, preferably of steelorother suitable metal, and

also preferably constructed as a single, continuous, unitary and solidmember, of a suitable size yand formto surround the periphery of thewheel or of the tire attached thereto. The band 16 is arranged for demtachable connection with the wheel or tire and to this end is preferablyprovided with a curved inner surface 17 adapted substantially to fit theperipheral or tread surface of the tire, -whereby when the tire isdeflated the band 16 may be readily slipped thereover: laterally, andafterward secured in place by the subsequent inflation of the tire. f' sThe outer or trem surfaceof the band 16 is constructedv to fit orcoperate with a railroad rail 18 beneath the wheel, andto this end isformed with a substantially cylindri cal portion 19 adapted to vengagethe top of the, rail and withv an. annular. -flange '20 adapted ltoengage the side ofsaid rail.'\85' The inner surface 17 'of the band 16preferably-terminates in two side portions21 and 22 respectively,extended inwardly toward the hub of the wheel and adapted vto engage theAtire 15 laterally, the port-ion 21- being of a iless widthvrelativelythan the portion 22,- whereby said portion may be slipped `laterallyover the-tire when deflated.` With the band 16 in place, however, therelatively wider vsideportion 22 will prevent further vrelative lateralmovement of theftire and band. The bands 16fvof the two wheels of `apair' will be slipped into place from'the outer side and will thereforebe oppositely arranged, as indicated in. Fig. 1.'- In 'the constructionshown the'side portion 22 engages the outer side or lateral face ofthetire 15 while the flange 20 engages'the inner roads as now built,particularly in the United States, is 56% inches, measured between theinterior faces 'of the Wheel anges.

-Automobiles as now constructed are usually 56 inches from center tocenter of the Wheels. It Will be observed that in the constructionherein shown the flanges 20 'are located substantially in the samevertical plane with the centers of the tires. By this construction theattachment herein shown enables an automobile-of standardconstruction'to be operated upon a railroad of standard gage, the solid,integral construction of the bands 16 enabling these bands to resist thelsomewhat eccentric stresses produced by this arrangement.

Having thus described my invention I claim and desire to secure byLetters Pat` ent:-

1. An attachment fora vehicle Wheel comprising an annular, substantiallyrigid band adapted to surround 'the tread of a pneumatic tire and to beheldin place thereon by the inflation of said tire, said band havingrigid side portions adapted to engage said tire laterally, one of saidside portions beingrof a relatively less Width to permit said band to beslipped laterally over said tire when deated, and the other of saidIside portions being of la` relatively greater width and being extendedto a position substantially adjacent the rim of the Wheel to preventrelative lateral movement of said tire and band, said band having anannular flangeon its surface, said vlast-named side portion and saidflange being arranged re-' ysaid tire when deflated, and the other ofsaid side portions being oi a relatively greater Width and beingextended to a position substantially adjacent the rim of the Wheel tovprevent relative lateraly movement of said tire and band, said bandhaving an annular `flange on its outer surface located in substantiallythe same vertical plane with the center of said tire, said last-namedside portion -and said flange being arranged respectively to engage atopposite sides said tire and a railroad rail beneath said Wheel.

I testimony 'whereof I'aix my signature,

in presence of two Witnesses,

I SPENCER A. CHERRY;

Witnesses:

J. A. AL'rHAUsER, f

JOHN WILKES.

